Chita raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure?"
The two looked at each other in silence, ultimately deciding to act as if they hadn't seen anything and continued with their practice.
Although the two of them didn't have much personal contact with Inarizaki, they ultimately had a basic understanding of certain players from Inarizaki through their coach and seniors.
And Saru, who had played against Inarizaki before and had been tormented by them, had an especially deep impression of a certain person.
No way, what if I end up being targeted by association?
But it was true; if you didn't consider the Third Year players currently at Inarizaki, their starters still contained more good people like Hinata.
Hinata didn't know how Saru and the others were organizing Inarizaki; he was just staring at Kageyama, trying to pry words from his mouth to get something useful.
But even after Kageyama thought seriously and summarized his thoughts, he still didn't say a single word.
Hinata slumped his shoulders dejectedly. "I originally wanted to discuss the secrets of side spin with you, but you don't seem to want to share anything with me at all, Kageyama.. Never mind then."
Kageyama's eyes lit up, he immediately called out to Hinata, "Wait a second."
I can't quite put it into words, but I can demonstrate it for you.
Having achieved his goal, Hinata stopped in his tracks and turned to look at him: "I'm ready!"
Kageyama did not choose to use a Jump Serve; instead, he stood in place, tossed the ball, hit it directly, making it land in the corner of the court.
Just like that.
Hinata's mind went blank.
“What do you mean 'just like that'?! You should at least say something like 'bam!' or 'whoosh!' as the ball gets spiked away!"
Kageyama's temple pulsed with a vein: "What kind of description is that! My demonstration was already very detailed!"
Are you an idiot? That's exactly how it is!
Hinata was indignant: "You're the idiot! You need to explain it to me!"
Kageyama's expression was serious: "I've finished teaching, so what about the spin serve?"
He didn't believe Hinata could provide any profound explanation.
Hinata picked up a volleyball, adjusted his spiking posture appropriately, hit the ball. The ball spun, tracing a subtle lateral arc before slamming into the ground.
Adjust your wrist, then snap it out like this!
Kageyama fell silent: ".."
Could there really be something wrong with him? What Hinata said was indeed clear and unambiguous.
Ishikawa, standing a short distance away from them, was left dumbfounded.
Wait, has he been left behind by the times?
He couldn't understand a word either of these two senpais were saying!
Hinata crossed his arms over his chest, tilting his chin up slightly as he looked at Kageyama.
Kageyama pressed further, "Then, what about being in a net-close state.."
Hinata raised a hand to block him. "No, Oikawa-senpai said he won't teach you, so that's it."
This guy won't even teach him the key points of tactical plays, how does he have the nerve to keep asking!
Kageyama's expression twisted.
Hinata made a face at him, then turned and ran toward Bai Ze while clutching the volleyball.
If Atsumu-senpai found out he had made such a losing deal.. he would definitely make fun of him!
Ishikawa silently withdrew his gaze.
He saw nothing, really.
That mature, handsome, reliable Little Giant-senpai—how is he acting like a three-year-old elementary schooler now?
While Hayami was using a portable massager for a hot compress massage, Hinata pushed the door open and walked in.
When they first arrived, Hinata proactively chose the top bunk before he could even say a word.
However, because he had to rush to do the tests, his things were still lying unorganized by his bedside.
Hayami sat up and greeted Hinata: "Hinata."
Seeing his face full of indignation, Hayami was a bit stunned: "What's wrong? Who bullied you?"
Hinata pulled up a stool and sat down beside Hayami. "That jerk Kageyama, he said he was going to coach me on my Jump Float Serve, but he isn't teaching me properly at all."
And he even tricked me out of my side spin technique! He's so mean!
Hayami adjusted the setting on the massager to make it less noisy. "A tactical serve? Hinata, are you planning to study that?"
Hinata nodded earnestly. "Yeah, Coach said that my proficiency in receiving and serving is still low, so I need to work hard on those two areas."
He moved a little closer to Hayami, because he suddenly remembered that Hayami was trained in the National Team system, in a sense, had more match experience than Atsumu-senpai.
He asked, "Hayami, do you know how to play against this? Or rather, how to play in a way that makes a Libero like you feel uncomfortable?"
Hayami couldn't help but chuckle. Resting his hands on his thighs, he turned his head to look at Hinata. "So, what is it you're hoping to achieve through your tactical serves, Hinata?"
“Direct scoring? Or just simple interference?”
Regarding interference, he felt Hinata was already doing an excellent job. As for scoring.. given Hinata's strength, if he doesn't prepare to study the Jump Float Serve, it will likely be difficult.
Of course, this will be the case whether it's now or when he goes to the professional leagues in the future.
But studying the Jump Float Serve would mean adding new elements and spiking habits to an already established serving system. Setting aside the amount of energy required, if it isn't practiced well, it might even negatively affect his original form.
While he felt the coach who doted on Hinata might be willing to provide Hinata with such space and opportunity, it would be an unprofitable option for Inarizaki, who was preparing to solidify their championship status.
"I want to learn everything," Hinata replied affirmatively.
Hayami asked again, "Then, do you have any intention of learning the Jump Float Serve?"
Hinata shook his head slightly. "No."
A Jump Float Serve is indeed a powerful scoring tool, but it is actually limited to the high school level.
After so many years of development in volleyball, high-level liberos basically all have the ability to handle a Jump Float Serve with ease.
To score through a Jump Float Serve, simply hitting a simple Jump Float Serve is not enough.
Not only must one strive for enough weight, but one must even understand the opponent's psychology to find their weaknesses.
But.. for him, both of these points are actually quite difficult.
Therefore, the Jump Float Serve shouldn't be on his training list; it isn't helpful enough for him.
If possible.. what he needs is a simpler, more effective way to serve.
Hayami rubbed her chin, thinking seriously for a moment. "To be honest, Shoyo, the kind of serve you're talking about that would make a Libero struggle most likely doesn't exist."
The very purpose of a Libero is first receive and defense; they must be able to handle any kind of ball with ease.
Hinata gave a soft hum of agreement.
Actually, he knew that if such a simple, all-purpose miracle tool truly existed, the serve wouldn't trouble so many people.
But just then, Hayami changed the subject: "But.."
We can't make the Libero uncomfortable, but we can easily make the Setter uncomfortable.
Hinata pricked up his ears: "Make the setter uncomfortable?"
Hayami nodded. "That's right."
He held up a finger toward Hinata: "In cases where it's not a net touch, most balls will land in the backcourt, then the back row defenders will receive them and send them to the front row Attack Line."
After Hinata nodded to show he understood, Hayami raised a second finger.
The core of most teams consists of the Opposite or the Left Wing, with an Ace being right-handed, most Strong Attacks occur within the range of Position 4.
And in order to provide better balls to Position 4, the Setter always faces Position 4, whether it's through a transition between Position 1 and 2 or a back row insertion.
Of course, excluding the freakish Miya Atsumu, who could set even while lying down.
"Mm-hmm." Hinata responded to Hayami, wanting to hear him continue.
Hayami held up three fingers, a mischievous smirk playing on his lips. "Given the first two known conditions, we can reach a conclusion."
The process of the setter moving forward requires focusing on the ball. When you send the ball toward Position 5, the Libero's receiving ensures that both the ball and the strong Spiker at Position 4 are within the setter's field of vision, allowing him to think about both simultaneously.
Hinata held his breath, because he understood what Hayami was trying to say.
Hayami spoke slowly, "No matter where the opponent's setter is, or how the back row receiving is arranged, as long as we hit the ball toward Position 1 in the back row.."
Hinata caught on: "The ball will definitely be sent out from behind the setter."
Hayami snapped her fingers. "Exactly, that's just how it is."
When the first receive comes from behind, the setter cannot observe both the ball's trajectory and the spiker's movement at the same time; they are forced to split their attention to track the first receive flying in from behind.
In times like these, your serve is already causing the opponent a great deal of trouble.
It could even force a Setter whose setting skills aren't that outstanding to abandon multi-point distribution.
Hinata's eyes lit up.
They had indeed not considered this point before, because the setter he interacted with most was Miya Atsumu.
The opponent's setting stability is never affected by the first receive, their ability to utilize multi-point attacks is also the best.
Hayami's words were not yet finished: "Under the premise of using this kind of serve, you could even add a little more to it."
Hinata asked, "What?"
Hayami replied, "A Sharp Cross with Side Spin."
The sharp cross is used to ensure the success rate of the serve being in-bounds, while the side spin is added as a bonus; when the opponent's pressure increases because of this kind of serve, it can appropriately seek the possibility of scoring—just in case it works.
Having received the answer he wanted, Hinata's face was filled with excitement: "Hayami, you are truly amazing!"
He hadn't expected his serve to score anyway, even the way Suna and the others targeted the precise gaps between opponents with their serves was something he often couldn't control.
But the plan Hayami provided was completely different from those high-difficulty balls; it even involved using serves from Position 1 to hit a Sharp Cross, minimizing the error rate to the absolute minimum.
And after being able to avoid most of the service errors caused by pursuing precision, he could even add something like the side spin Hayami mentioned to this kind of serve.
No.. besides, he could even go a step further and pursue ball speed and power in his serves!